001
by Rosefire84
Summary: A second-generation mutation escapes from the school and seeks out the flock for guidance. What will happen when Ari returns from the dead- AGAIN? Some characters submitted by reviewers
1. Chapter 1

**Enjoy! Oh, and somebody tell me if I make a mistake- haven't read the books in a while...**

Duct tape IS like the force. I'm telling you, it holds the world together(we're not forgetting, the light and dark sides!)

It certainly makes a great cast for a broken ankle- trust me, no matter much you want to scream and cry and somehow cradle your foot, it ain't gonna happen. And if you ask me, it's a whole lot easier to make a cast in midair then on the ground with a bunch of blood-hungry erasers about to make it worse.

Oh, yeah, if you don't get that, don't ask.

I was right on their tail. Hopefully I looked like an innocent hawk. Probably more like a large, clumsy skydiver, though. The flock was so lucky- they had each other. But I was second generation- stronger, cleverer. I didn't need anyone- or so I thought.

And now, here I was, backpack full of canned food, duct tape, and dollar bills, on my way to becoming a flock member. It was my first time really flying, too, and I had to admit it was exhilarating. My wings were gossamer white, streaked with silver. I felt powerful, finally in command.

_ Escape at last, _I thought, and for the first time it was true. However difficult and painful it had been, I had gathered the resources and escaped from the school, all on my own. I could think and speak, what a miracle. I was going to make it. I had tracked the flock here, and soon I would really be safe.

I could see the six of them gliding over the clouds, soaring. I wished I had that kind of skill. It would certainly take practice. They looked like actual birds up there, above me in the sky, somewhere where they really belonged. I could only hope I belonged there, too.

"Hello?" I called, cringing internally. What if they thought I was an eraser?

They gracefully swooped around. I instinctively raised my arms over my head to protect myself from any blows.

"Who're you?" Asked Max authoritavely. Leave it to her to get straight to the point.

"I'm... I don't really know..." I told her. It was true. In the minds of the whitecoats, I was just a number. I didn't have a name.

"How do we know the school didn't send you?" She asked suspiciously.

"She doesn't mean any harm," Asserted a small, high voice. Angel, I thought. The one who could read minds and even control them.

"That's right, I can," She said. Her arms were crossed. She looked like a cross between a punk and an angel, literally.

"Why, thank you!" She beamed.

"That's...really, really freaky," I said. Her smile widened.

"So, what do you want?" Max asked.

"I want..." I hesistated. They were a family. I couldn't just barge into their tight-knit group, but I had to try. "I want to be a part of the flock."

Max nodded thoughtfully. "We'll think about it." Her tone was edgy and cautious.

"Come on," she said, and the flock followed her. I drifted behind as they chatted. When would I ever matter to anyone?

I had a strategy in mind, though.

I flew close to Max and whispered in her ear. "I know something you might want to know, too." She nodded, and I continued. "The school's really advanced. Mind control, like Angel, and...something else. They can reacitvate dead brains now. Bring back corpses as zombies, if you will."

Max's eyes widened slightly, but she narrowed her brows. "And?"

"And Ari's back."

**Well! Ta-da! :) Review, please! Wow, I am awesome. I create people and bring back the dead. Any suggestions, let me know. Oh, and a contest: choose a last name for my main character. Deadline April 10th. Winner gets to be a character in one of my upcoming chapters!**


	2. Chapter 2

**_I decided that I needed both a first and a last name, so I will be using a combination of names from the lists sent to me. By the way, the deadline was just a random date. I don't care about deadlines, not really, but I set one up to make sure I wouldn't have to wait until November to post a second chapter. The main character's name is now officially Ava Carson Gossamer. Many thanks to my amazing reviewers!!! Losttale and Saphira10, send me a description of your character. They must be around the age range of the flock, and they can be any kinds of mutants at all; I would suggest something original instead of the wings(maybe being like a chameleon, able to change skin color, or super fast). You will be other experiments that join up with Ava later in the story. Feel free to give me plot ideas, and thanks for the name suggestions!_**

Max's face was suddenly contorted into a mask of sorrowful horror. She swooped away from me at full speed, streaking away, and before long she had vanished somewhere in the clouds. Wow. I knew they all had talents, but the girl could really fly fast.

I snuck a glance at Fang. Had he heard? I had read their files; I knew practically every word they had ever said. How would he react if he had heard us? He stared passively ahead, unfazed, so I assumed he hadn't. But with a glance at Angel, I knew I had caused chaos. She looked at me like I was dirt. Couldn't she read minds? So, how had she not known? Perhaps I hadn't been thinking about it when I had introduced myself.

Angel glided over to Nudge and Gazzy and they both looked at me with wide eyes. Yeah, shoot the messenger.

"Guys...?" Oh, God. Like gossip, almost, they were spreading the news. Fang would know. Now it would be more like 'pound the messenger into the dirt and leave her bleeding and dying in a flock circle-beating free-for-all'. Shoot was a real understatement when Fang met my gaze and Iggy uncannily looked my way. Fang drew his fingers across his throat. Like, one of those, I'm gonna kill you now gestures. I looked away quickly.

Yeah, here's a bad way to start my day. Broken ankle, six deadly new enemies, evil wolf-men on my tail, possibly out to kill me.

Okay, what the heck? I don't have a name, social security number, or even a legal identity. I need something to build on. I'm in trouble- meaning, subject 001 is in trouble. I need a name... I also need to think.

Without thinking, I fold my wings and drop into the clouds below. It is almost better than flying; freefalling is more exciting, a rush of energy. I thought of all the names I had heard of, some that just sounded beautiful in my mind. Ava Carson Gossamer. Nudge would get a kick out of that if she ever forgave me for telling them about Ari. I had thought the school must have revived him to threaten and unhinge the flock; to say, we can do anything and we know how you feel about it. The problem was, it had already worked and they hadn't even seen him. Because of me. Maybe this wasn't such a brilliant idea after all.

And yet. Maybe I could blackmail them into letting me join the flock. But that would be low, even for a mutant torture lab escapee.

But I HAD to join the flock. It was my only hope of survival, and I wanted companions. I depended on others, unknowing about most of the world.

Ava Carson Gossamer was going to be a part of the flock. Or poor little mutant Ava Carson Gossamer was going to die, alone, at the hands of the erasers.

Well, I learned something: sentences like that certainly put things into perspective.


	3. Chapter 3

**This next chapter is about Samantha, submitted by Saphira10, and several characters submitted by Losttale, and an extra OC of my own I threw in. I took a few liberties with names, and I tweaked them a little bit- I hope you don't mind- but I loved all the characters that were sumbitted; they were all very original and fun to write about. Thanks so much, Losttale and Saphira10! You guys are awesome!**

**I'm so sorry that it's been literally months since my last update. But now that summer's upon us, I'm writing overtime and enjoying it. Updates will be frequent now. Please enjoy! P.S. I know I already posted-then deleted-this chapter, but I made a few mistakes and I wanted to fix them before moving on. Little mistakes, like in grammar and punctuation, so I hope you don't mind!**

Samantha's POV:

I wonder what happened to 'One. She was a good friend, even if she had been reluctant to choose a name for herself. I knew that numbers were no title for a person, so I called myself Samantha. 'One called me Sam. She was technically called experiment zero-zero-one-G2, but I knew her only as a friend.

I was 13. I only had one friend and lived in a cage.

Not the nicest life, but I was used to it. Besides, 'One had left me with my file, which I hid in a gap in the whitewashed brick wall. Now I knew the extent of my abilities, and I was sure I could find the right opportunity to escape and hopefully find out where she had gone, if she was alive.

The file was crisp, cream-colored paper with a picture of me in a hospital gown. I was maybe a year or two younger, but the whitecoats did not update the files unless they made a breakthrough discovery. My hair was wavy red, streaked with black and subtle brown, and fell to my shoulderblades. My eyes weren't focused on the camera, but one could still tell that they had slit pupils like a cat's and were a deep sea green. My features were prominently catlike, and cat ears protruded from my head. My tail was only barely visible, covered in mahogany fur striped with unnaturally deep black. I had fur like that that ran from the nape of my neck to my tail, and claws embedded in my hands. I was tall and slim, but I looked more frightened then graceful.

The file read as follows:

Title: 013-G1

Age: 13 years

Gender: Female

DNA: 97% human, 3% feline

Description: Pale skin, good muscle tone, 5"6', weighs 98 lbs

Abilities: Can jump over four feet high and land perfectly, reasonably fast runner, has extremely good hearing and extended senses, and can purr and growl and does so instinctively.

I blinked. I didn't remember reading the part about jumping four feet in the air. Could I do that? I thought about it. It didn't actually sound that challenging. Useful to know.

A whitecoat approached my cage. I stuck my hand through the evenly-spaced bars and grabbed his collar. I smashed his head against the bricks with a sickening crunch, and he crumpled to the floor.

Time to put my plan into action. I slid out my claws and reached through the bars again. After a few minutes of trying, I unlocked the door and toggled the latch. It flipped open and I slid out.

I took the access card from the unconscious whitecoat and was about to leave when I spotted the others. There were other crates in the room, and three were occupied.

The cage on top of mine had a girl in it. She looked about fourteen, with olive-toned skin and deep brown eyes with strange yellow specks. Her hair was black and curly, but cropped short. Her hands were covered in shimmering, oily black scales and I suspected she must have fangs.

The cage beneath mine held another girl with obvious fangs. She looked older than me as well; I would've guessed sixteen or seventeen because of her height and knowing look, but it turned out that she was only fifteen. Her hair was a long, silky chestnut brown. She had pale skin and gray-green eyes, but despite her beauty she had a gothic look about her. I could see transparent wings rising from her back, black tinted with green. I could tell right away she was a human-bat hybrid.

Finally, in a cage stacked above two empty ones, was a boy about my age. His hair was a strange combination of blonde and black. His arms, hands, and back were covered in brown, thorn-like scales that reminded me of the texture of bones. Light gray and black scales striped his cheekbones. He looked like he was brooding.

I sighed and unlatched their crates. "What're your names?" I inquired. They looked surprised to be included in this impromptu escapade.

The bat girl spoke up first. "I'm 191-G3. But I think I'd prefer something simpler, so I'll call myself Bat."

"I don't have a name," said the other girl. "I mean, I used to, but I don't remember. I'm a snake mutant, a black mamba." She closed her eyes like she was trying to remember something.

"Were you stolen from your home or something?" I asked.

"I think so," she said, sounding puzzled. "I'll be called Mady."

The boy looked up. "I'm 003-G1. Or Casey."

"Okay...well, do any of you have any ideas on how to escape?" I wondered.

In answer, Bat pulled the fire alarm and yelled, "Follow me!" We took a detour down a little hallway into the lab. Bat confided quietly, "There's someone else we need to take with us," and we entered the lab.

There, a little boy who looked about eight stood confusedly in the middle of the room. His hair was light brown, short and fuzzy, and his eyes were a faint blue. He looked normal.

He shrank back in fear when he saw us and whimpered pitifully. His thin body was covered in burns, and he wore only a white robe.

"Have they been experimenting on you?" I asked softly. He nodded. "Can you speak?" I asked.

"Yes," he breathed.

"Do you have a name?"

"440-G1..." he said.

"We'll call you...Tommy," I decided. "We're escaping, and you're coming with us." Tommy gave a small smile and grabbed Bat's hand. After quick introductions, we moved on.

"I'm a rabbit-human combination," He whispered in a gentle, quiet voice as he trailed Bat.

Whitecoats poured out of the building and we easily avoided their notice; apparently they only cared about getting out of the building and not about security or order. Bat led us to a room with an oval table, a filing cabinet, and a small refrigerator.

"Score one for the mutants!" Mady yelled, and dashed to the mini-fridge, all traces of hesitance gone.

We grabbed all the files from the filing cabinet and used a white lab coat like a knapsack to carry a bunch of food. On the way out, I looked over them all. It didn't seem like little Tommy could do anything out of the ordinary, but Bat, Mady, and Casey all had useful powers.

"You guys can morph into human form?" I read from the files in disbelief.

"Not I," said Bat.

"I can," Mady and Casey remarked at the same time. Mady held up a scaled hand and the black scales faded to a perfect match of her skin color. Casey's thorn-like-scales smoothed out and did the same.

"That's FREAKY," I said.

Casey smiled. It was the first time I'd seen him smile so far.


	4. Chapter 4

**Expect that the gang of mutants joins up with Ava. Because if you didn't, I wouldn't give you a virtual Tommy the adorable rabbit mutant plushie. That's right- I give out plushies now! Mwahahahaha!**

_Ava's POV_

Yep; I was convinced. Free-falling is WAY more of an adrenaline rush then fighting erasers. I was certain that if I ever got the opportunity to ride a roller coaster, all the fun would be taken out of it. But one had to land sometime, and I certainly wasn't going back to the flock, so I opened my wings-they caught a huge gust of air and tugged me upward, OUCH- and spiraled to the ground, landing in a grove of trees.

What was I to do now? I hadn't made it very far from the school, I supposed only a few miles. Far enough to be in the forest, but still too close for comfort. I had enough food to survive in the wild for some time, but I had to retreat further from the school.

I climbed a tree and pulled out a snack-size package of goldfish. I had never tasted any before. It was sealed shut, so I reasoned the whitecoats couldn't've poisoned it. The tiny crackers were much better than any meager, expired rations the school would have offered. For much of my 13 years, all I had eaten was something that was orange, tasteless, and the texture of toothpaste. It was probably just a bunch of random nutrients inside a paste instead of real food.

Night drew nearer, and the air became colder. I pulled a fleece jacket out of the backpack and used it like a blanket; sadly, it was not the most effective blanket ever. I shivered for what felt like hours before I fell into an uneasy sleep.

_Bat's POV_

The little kid, Tommy, kept following me around. I didn't know why, but I felt like I needed to take care of him. He was sweet, but he didn't talk much.

I sort of liked that he instinctively chose me to protect him. I supposed I could be bossy, but I was also sort of motherly. Not that I went around telling people, though.

"You never told us your name," I told the cat-girl.

"I'm Sam," she replied.

We all gathered supplies and stuffed them into our 'knapsack'- the white lab coat we had found. I took a last look inside the filing cabinet. So far, I had discovered my file, along with Casey's, and Samantha had hers already. Carefully picking through the rest, I found a map of the school and the surrounding land, and post-its where Mady's and Tommy's files should have been. They read the same thing: file location transfered to Institute of Higher living.

Peering over my shoulder, Sam said, "She knew something about that. Said something about following the footsteps of the flock..."

"Who're you talking about?" I wondered aloud.

But Sam didn't get to answer, because just then, the fire alarms shut off and the roof fell in.

I stared up in utter horror. More than three dozen flying erasers hovered above the wreckage, canine features contorted in rage.

The one closest to me stated flatly, "You will not escape." His voice sounded mechanical. Oh, great, I had miscalculated: over FOUR dozen flying eraser robots. Just wonderful.

Tommy whimpered. I groaned inwardly. What to do? On one hand, if we surrendered, we might be returned to our cages but left mostly unharmed. Of course, we could also be killed. On the other hand, we could risk being massacred in an unfair battle for freedom. If we made it, though... That would be amazing. We'd be free. On the run, perhaps, but free.

I sent a sideways glance in Sam's direction. It seemed like we had assumed the position of joint leaders unconsciously. She smiled bravely, and we shot into action.

I could see her rake her claws down the side of one eraser-machine, and the metal ripped, creating hideous scratches. The others, though, were reluctant. Tommy cowered behind the wreckage of the mini-fridge, and Mady and Casey stood still, fearfully staring at the enemy.

Another metal eraser shot towards me. With surprising speed, I managed to send him staggering away with a roundhouse kick. I stretched and opened my wings. They were black as night and sleeker than a bat's. Sadly, I was the only one that could fly.

Instinctively, I pushed off with a short running start and fought from the air. I was actually doing pretty well, for someone who had never actually been in a fight. There was a point where it became natural seek out the other enemies and take the fight to them. I'd discovered that the base of their skulls and their entire lower spines were incredibly weak, for robots, and a single hit in these crucial spots could take them out.

But there were still many of them, and more arriving. I took a chance and dived back down into the wreckage.

Sam was easily holding her own, and Casey's thorns were protecting him from most blows as fought by Mady's side. Mady had taken a thin pipe from the destroyed roof and was whacking any cyborg erasers that dared come near. Tommy was nowhere to be seen.

I checked behind the mini-fridge's pitiful remains, and saw the little rabbit boy curled up in a ball. I scooped him up in my arms. He was so small that I could carry him with one arm, if I cradled him and draped him half-way across my shoulder. Unconventional, but I needed a hand free.

I cleared a path through the rubble and grabbed Mady's hand. She, Sam, and Casey followed me as I charged outside, still holding Tommy's limp form with my right arm. I leapt into the air and stroked with my powerful bat's wings. Tommy weighed me down, but I could still fly. Sam ran ahead speedily, and Mady and Casey kept up a steady pace behind us.

It seemed like we ran for miles, but the few remaining robots kept up pursuit. I set down Tommy gently, and took down around seven erasers. Sam defeated all the rest but one, which Mady whacked repeatedly with her pipe until she crushed it's metal skull. With an electric-sounding crackle, the final eraser toppled to the ground.

I was stunned. We were free. Beyond the school's walls.

I made up my mind, then and there, that no matter what it took, I would protect myself and the others and keep us out of the horrible prison forever.


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm so sorry guys! I'm an evil person :( I haven't updated in an eternity(even if it only lasted about a month). You all get feel-better Tommy plushies and a longish chapter to make up for the wait.**

_Ava's POV_

I woke up feeling terrible. My ankle ached, my ears buzzed, and my pack felt three times heavier. Eating a cold can of soup did nothing to help. I struck a match and made the world's tiniest campfire, trying to warm it.

I spilled the hot soup all over me.

Scowling, I realized this was destined to be a not-so-great-day. I pulled out a water bottle and tried to hose myself off. I failed at this, so I gave up and put on my only change of clothes. A cotton white tee and some super-short jean shorts. Geez, did it really have to be this cold when I was wearing that? It was California! At least I knew where I was. I told myself to stop complaining and get moving. My whining side told to stay, eat food, and fix my cast. The whining side won out.

Eventually, I wrung out my other set of clothes and set them by the fire to dry. Goldfish crackers are the work of miracles, and I snacked on them lazily.

Suddenly, I heard rustling in the bushes beyond. I sat up and sprang into the air, not bothering to stamp out the fire or grab my things. I hovered above the canopy of trees, my wings silently riding the air, and waited.

After a while, figures emerged from the trees. A tall girl holding a little boy's hand. Another, smaller girl, a boy about my age. And there, leading them, was- Sam! I almost whooped, but remembered to watch them. They could be under the control of the whitecoats.

Sam picked up my pack and stared at the fire for a second. She called into the air, "Are you there?" The others stared at her like she was crazy. I made a quick decision and dove towards them.

"I'm called Ava now," I stated after landing. Sam tackled me in a bear hug.

"I can't believe you made it! I knew you'd be okay!" She grinned.

Pointing at each respectively, Sam announced,"This is Bat, who's a bat hybrid, of course, Mady, a snake hybrid, I think she's a black mamba, Casey, who's a... some kind of lizard?" Sam's face scrunched up as she tried to remember.

"Thorny devil," Casey inserted, sounding more than a little sarcastic.

"Right! And the little one's a rabbit hybrid called Tommy."

The group regarded me with mixed looks. Casey's expression was slightly suspicious, Mady's trusting, Bat's guarded but still welcoming. Sam looked entirely thrilled to see me, and Tommy hid behind Bat.

"We escaped from the school! Can you believe it? We found Tommy in a lab," she gushed."Guess what? I can jump four feet in the air and-" "Shh!" I cut her off with a grin of my own. She was like a fountain, spouting words and sentences without pausing. Very much like...Nudge. Oh dear. My face fell.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked concernedly.

"My encounter with, uh, the flock...didn't go so well." I tried not to sound depressed, but it showed.

"Oh..." Sam said dejectedly.

"Yeah...see, Ari's a sore subject for them," I explained, trying to smile. "And I broke my ankle fighting the erasers," I continued.

"Ooh, ouch," Sam sympathized.

Mady spoke up for the first time. "I think I might've sprained my wrist or something," She said.

"You did nice work with that pipe, though," Bat commented, and Mady beamed. I did notice that she held her left arm at an awkward angle.

"Here, lemme...get something," I said, and picked up my pack. "Aha!" After rummaging through it, I found the duct tape. "You can make a splint or something," I told her, handing her the duct tape.

"Er, make yourselves at home, I guess." I showed them where I kept the food, warning them to make it last. Casey lugged a long white lab coat filled with supplies and food. Perhaps it wasn't going to be such a terrible day, after all.

_The next morning from Bat's POV:_

I opened a can of ravioli and toasted one on a fork, over the fire. Yes, ravioli for breakfast. Nothing's wrong with that!

As a group, we had decided that we would travel and replenish the supplies; it would be better to eat and get stronger now, and be less burdened with things to carry. We would move camp at dawn, further into the thick woods, so the erasers and robots sent after us wouldn't find us as easily. When we moved, we would only have a box of matches, two swiss army knives, a-hopefully-unused visa gift card, and two hundred dollars in cash. Plus the clothes on our backs.

I had learned of Ava's confrontation with the flock, and she of our brilliant escape, and now we were ready to leave. Almost.

"Mmmph," Tommy said, and rolled over. The little guy was still asleep. He could become a burden, but for now, all we thought of was how sweet and cute he was. And how unfair life had been to him. Mady and Tommy were both still asleep, but Sam, Ava, Casey and I has arisen early.

"We should leave soon, we really need to get going, at least, I think we do," Sam commented. Geesh. She had seemed quiet but she was turning into a motorouth.

"'Kay, fine," Moaned Mady. She must've been awake after all.

"I'll carry Tommy," I said authoritatively. Casey and Mady nodded in unison. It was like they were siblings or something; they only looked somewhat alike, but they did things similarly without thinking much about it.

"I'll go get the stuff. I can carry it for you guys, I really can," Sam said.

"No, I'll carry some of it," Ava said. She seemed sort of stern and bossy... she reminded me of me. I had found more friends then I had counted on.

After some bickering over who carried what(Casey and Mady had both joined in the arguement), we set off. Ava and I skimmed the trees, keeping Mady and Casey just within sight as they jogged below us. Sam was somehow jumping from tree to tree. If we had normal lives, the girl could be an acrobat.

"We need to pick up the pace," I called to them. "Loosing time is more than we can afford." Tommy stirred and asked for breakfast. I handed him a blackened pop-tart I had been carrying.


	6. Chapter 6

_"Do you have a name?"_

_"440-G1..." he said._

_"We'll call you...Tommy," I decided. "We're escaping, and you're coming with us." Tommy gave a small smile and grabbed Bat's hand. After quick introductions, we moved on._

_"I'm a rabbit-human combination," He whispered in a gentle, quiet voice as he traile__d Bat. (excerpt from a previous chapter)_

_I was stunned. We were free. Beyond the school's walls._

_I made up my mind, then and there, that no matter what it took, I would protect myself and the others and keep us out of the horrible prison forever. (excerpt from a previous chapter)_

* * *

**Okay, this chapter is depressing in the beginning, but that's what I get for listening to Evanescence while I write. Go on, read it!**

_Tommy's POV_

The bat girl was nice. She wasn't mean like the ones who always wore white. They hurt me. Sometimes they made the red stuff come out of me. That never felt good. But the girl who carried me made it stop hurting. She was so nice, I forgot about it. She made the clawing inside go away by giving me food. It was good food. Yummy. The people in the white coats didn't give me food sometimes. Sometimes they gave me icky orange stuff. The bat girl hugged me when she flew, so I forgot about the hurting. I just ate my yummy food and watched the sky go by.

_Bat's POV_

I was worried about Tommy. He was so young. He could barely speak(of course, no one had bothered to teach him), and he had suffered so much. The rest of us had grown up and learned to bear the whitecoats. This life couldn't be good for him. I remembered telling Sam about him. My words had been, "There's someone else we need to take with us." Now, I realized, it would have been more appropriate to say, "There's someone else we need to save."

My thoughts were alot more out of control than I would have liked. I wasn't thinking like I had before; but what was different? I had a family now, someone I needed to protect. Tommy munched on the pop tart. He was so skinny, like he would blow away if I let go of him.

I looked down at his big gray eyes. They were too big for his face, but they held a sort of wisdom. Like he understood without needing to be told. And yet...he was young and naive. It was so unfair...

"Bat!" Ava called out.

"What?" I did an automatic 360, scanning for danger.

"Think we should call it a day? The others seem tired," she said.

"Oh..." I had assumed that she meant there was danger. Why did we have to be on the run? I still yearned for protection... no, that wasn't it. Constant worrying and retreating was my life now. I wanted to take a stand against those who had wronged me. Maybe someday...

I shook myself out of my reverie and looked down at the others. Sam looked tired, and Mady and Casey had lost the spring in their step.

"Alright, let's make camp," I agreed.

I coasted down and let the breeze carry me through the thin trees to the ground. Mady spread out a blanket by the base of a huge weeping willow, and set out some food. After we all ate, Tommy fell asleep on the ground. I lifted him and wrapped him in the blanket, then set him on one of the branches. It was enough to support his weight, and he snuggled in the space where two branches met. It was like a little cradle.

I slept on the ground, lying the the sparse grass. I didn't mind; I could see the stars. After staring at the big dipper for a while, I dozed off, drifting in and out of a light but pleasant sleep. I dreamed of standing on a cloud and waltzing with the Orion constellation, then about giving Mady a bag of candy as big as her head for her birthday.

_Ava's POV_

I woke to the sound of Casey's gasp and Mady's stifled shriek. Silhoutted against the glowing moon was a figure that I knew would plague Maximum Ride's nightmares did she ever see him again. For me, it was strange. I knew everything he had done, really, terrible and good. It wasn't any special meaning, but it WAS bad news for us. He would probably go hunting the flock as soon as he finished with us.

Ari stood not two yards away from me.


	7. AN

**A/N:**

**Okay, guys, I'd bet you're all sticking pins in a voodoo doll of me by now. If you haven't run over that same voodoo doll with a truck already. I apologize for the wait, I knwo it's been at least five months. Five whole months. That's a really long time, and I don't know how to make it up to you guys. School's kept me busy, but really, that's not an excuse. I'm truly very sorry for the long wait and I swear that even though I keep making ang breaking this promise, I'll update more. I have not abandoned this story, I've simply been a scatterbrained, forgetful idiot. Please forgive me! Review with scathing comments about my idiocy if you'd like. If this story is still worth continuing, though, let me know.**


End file.
